CHAPTER 16
She had not had Lieten’s staff upon her for weeks. Arms of purple and blue had been replaced by smooth skin graced by an occasional scar. Yet as she looked at the pile of books that her teacher had planned for her how she wished for his strike.
A cold dark stare framed Gwendoline’s features as the pupil looked up into blue eyes. No mercy to be found there. Ren’ai looked back to the page before he then up to the Gwendoline whose eyes went wide as if she could not contain her joy.
The look scared Ren’ai to the core. She did not wait for the command; she opened the cover and began.
Shana, The Historian, to the truth of these accounts I do attest, for I have seen in my lifetime out of the clans of the north and the south and the east and the west the formation of one human nation, that is called Aletheia.
It was in the days before King Tobias, that we lived each in our own nation and with our own people, our clan. And the clans in that day spotted the land as grass upon the meadow and each clan had a leader, we called Qi. And each clan did belong with other clans to a province. Each province had a leader called the High Councilor, who was considered to the people the most high but the loyalty of the people for the most part did rest with the Qi for it was the Qi who did speak on their behalf before the High Councilor that he might rule in their favor.
And there rose in the Province called Raskiny a High Councilor. And he was beloved by his people, and they called him Tobias the Good. And Raskiny sat upon the fertile lowlands and their wealth in the fields and the orchards was great.
During the famines of fourth era they did send by the caravan grains and potatoes and all manner of fresh fruit to their less fortunate neighboring provinces. And the people called him Blessed Savior.
And when the Goat Clan of the eastern province, Thenau, did lose favor in the sight of their fellow clans, High CouncilorTobias said, “Come unto us undesired ones that Raskiny should be your home.”
And the people called him Most Generous Lord.
And the High Councilor Tobias sent by way of messengers to the Qi of the lands a proclamation, “Send us your poor, your weak and undesired that we may give them shelter and food.” And the poor did go to Raskiny. And the people called him Compassionate One.
And the High Councilor and his most trusted General Ruric did meet with the many Qi of the land in secret, receiving and giving favor in turn. And they called him Supreme Councilor.
And in this time the clans of a province did fight among themselves, seeking to add to their lands and their purses. And Tobias sent peacekeepers to them, saying that together we all could prosper.
“This Tobias sounds like a kind fellow. So good of him to help all of those people.” As Ren’ai spoke, she could feel Gwendoline studying her with light, piercing eyes as if she were weighing her soul upon scales.
“You must learn to look deeper, Nai, if you are to protect the Healer. You must ask yourself why Tobias would do these things. Are these the acts of a compassionate man or a man with a plan for something more? Read on.”
And when Tobias by the hand of his most trusted General, Ruric did seize the Province called Thenau, many welcomed his arrival and their defeat was swift. And so Raskiny and Thenau became one land under one leader, Tobias.
And the poor and the weak and the unwanted became Tobias’ most loyal subjects. They joined his army and became his most trusted advisors, having an understanding of the culture and politics of their respective clans and provinces. And with their guidance, quickly all provinces fell into Tobias’s grasp. Some fought, but many welcomed his arrival.
And Tobias raised up the Qi who had allied with him into places of power, calling them the new High Councilors of the land, with only himself above them. The High Councilors who reigned before them were put to death with their families in public execution and the people sang his praises.
And Tobias named the land Aletheia after his eldest daughter Aleth and he called Aletheia his child and swore to nurture and guide it as he would his own daughter. And he called himself King of Aletheia.
And the fields of Raskiny went unsowed as the people of Raskiny became more reliant on the resources of the provinces that Tobias had conquered. And their lives grew into a thing of extravagance, wanting for nothing and working little.
“So Tobias and Ruric did these things to make their conquest of the land a swift one.”
“It would appear so.” Gwendoline smiled, swiping a lace sleeve across the girl’s back. It was not Lieten’s staff, but a comforting touch. “Strategy, that is the key to any win. Not speed or strength or even numbers. Tobias had the numbers, he had the resources to send out an overwhelming force, yet he waited, sowed the seeds among the population, he and Ruric.”
“But whose idea was it to curry such favor of the people? Tobias or Ruric?”
“That is not something we can ever really know. There is History and then there is interpretation. Shana can only write History as it is, interpretation must be left to the reader.”
Ren’ai thought for a moment. “But I don’t remember a Tobias. Only Ruric. When did this happen?”
“I guess you would have seen about three when Ruric became King of Aletheia. I would not expect you to remember. That is why the Historian, Shana’s writings are so important. Continue.”
Ever at his side was General Ruric. To many Ruric was the face of King Tobias, for it was he who had accompanied the caravans and met with the Qi and led the armies of Tobias to the peoples’ aid. And they called him Ruric the Kind.
And Ruric was to Tobias his most trusted and he did give to Ruric his daughter most beloved, Aleth who had been named his heir.
But it is spoken of Ruric that patience be a quality he lacks. It is said that from the moment he took her to bedchamber that the plot was laid to be rid of Tobias that the Throne of Aletheia should fall to Ruric, and it was done with a knife across the throat and the guards of Tobias bearing as much loyalty to their General as their King did not lift a hand to stop him. But rather they called him, Your Majesty.
So began the reign of Ruric. He removed the Qi from their places of power with his mighty sword and placed in their stead his generals.
And Ruric gave them this directive, “Quash any uprising from the first word of dissent with a brutal hand for delay could allow such treachery to grow.”
The Builder of our time who is called John, requested audience with King Ruric. The E’epan John as representative of the decisions of Habenhold pleaded with the King to spare the people such wrath. But Ruric sent him back to us disgraced, stating that there was no place in the modern world for E’epans and we should allow ourselves to die out so that the world could enter new times of hope and peace in which all clans would work together for the good of Aletheia no more to fight among themselves. Prosperity for all. All resources gathered through Raskiny to be dispersed among the masses. Peace under his guiding hand.
It was this day that Ruric declared war upon any E’epan that might think to stand in his way, stating that he would be the one to rid Nine Worlds of the E’epan race and bring it into a new era.
“Why do people write these things?” Ren’ai asked, scraping her eyes from the page. “What does it matter what happened yesterday? It doesn’t change what I do today.”
“They write it because people forget. As long as we have the Old Stories, people will know the truth.” Again, Gwendoline stared into the girl as if she were weighing her soul.
Truth. She had gone her young life without knowing about how Ruric came to power. Why now? What did it matter? It did not help her grow stronger. No one took the time to write down what happened in Caerwyn. She would learn it because Master Jabari told her it was part of her training, but love talking shapes like Gwendoline and Jabari, she could not do it.
As Gwendoline released her, she ran in bounds toward the training rooms to find someone to fight. She knew that she still had a couple of hours of daylight even though the sun rested far above the surfac
e and she below. The rhythms of day and night had slowly begun to take shape within her.
A fight would take her thoughts off of her family and that town she had never seen called Caerwyn Ridge which had followed her like a vengeful spirit since that night, haunting her, ever whispering in her ear the horrific deeds of her father, telling her that she held no less blame. Yes, a fight would expend her wrath and remove from her mind images of the pale blue eyes of the Healer’s wife looking into her, staring as if to see something concealed, something Ren’ai wanted desperately to hide.